Success Stories

Stories tagged: Energy & Environment

An ongoing partnership between SUEZ Water Technologies and Solutions (formerly GE Water & Process Technologies) and the University of Guelph aims to offer cities a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment.

A first-of-its-kind system that uses the vast depths of Lake Ontario to boost Toronto’s energy supply is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the area of energy storage. Representatives of Toronto-based start-up Hydrostor, Toronto Hydro and OCE – which supported the energy project from the outset – gathered last week to celebrate the official launch of the exciting new technology.

Growing local food is a challenge in Ontario’s northern climate due to a short growing season. Sudbury-based Greenhouses Canada (GHC), in collaboration with Cambrian College, has developed an innovative, energy efficient greenhouse solution.

Traditionally, spinach has been unsuitable for indoor growing because of its susceptibility to fungus. But an innovative Durham-based company has engineered a way to avoid this by growing spinach in water, and without using any pesticides or fungicides.

University of Windsor PhD candidate Kyle Bassett won $25,000 in the 2014/2015 David McFadden Energy Entrepreneur Challenge for his portable wind turbine that allows remote communities to produce energy easily, reliably and at a low cost.

Post-doctoral fellow and hydrologist Michael Callaghan left a lot of uncertainty about his future behind when he recently landed a spot with a globally cutting-edge company in his field and some strong future prospects.

AquaGreens is dedicated to providing the most nutrient rich, locally grown organic greens and tilapia to grocery stores and restaurants in Toronto. The company, located in Mississauga, is passionate about strengthening local communities through the celebration and awareness of aquaponic food production in ways that are economically, socially and environmentally responsible.

Toronto-based Clear Blue Technologies has developed a solution that weds the power of clean energy – through solar panels and a wind turbine – with cloud software technology to wirelessly deliver highly reliable off-grid power and independence to devices like streetlights, traffic cameras and mobile signage.

Guelph-area company Katan Kitchens is set to produce the highest-quality quinoa in the world, right here in Ontario. The company, in partnership with the University of Guelph, has been working on developing several quinoa varieties conducive to Ontario’s climate and soil conditions.

Canada’s largest pizza chain, Pizza Pizza, has teamed up with McMaster University and heat exchange manufacturers Thermal Electronics Corporation and Acrolab to develop a low-cost system that efficiently recovers waste heat from pizza ovens and converts it to electricity.

Lafarge Canada Inc., in partnership with Queen’s University, has taken the lead in developing fuel storage and safety systems and standards that address the unique handling characteristics of low carbon fuels. New safeguards and best practices, similar to those for diesel oil or gasoline, will ensure operational safety and set a precedent for all industries committed to building a more sustainable future.

CHAR Technologies has developed SulfaCHAR, a charcoal-type filter made from by-products of the anaerobic digestion process that works the same way as a home water filter to remove H2S and convert it into a beneficial agricultural fertilizer additive, turning the SulfaCHAR into a cost-effective, sustainable and truly zero-waste solution. CHAR Technologies owns the patent on the process of extraction.

With the support of the C4 TTN, a spin-off company from Western University called Agri-Therm, has developed the first mobile process to use heat to chemically decompose almost any waste material like wood, corn stocks, tires and plastics into high-value biofuels.